Billy Wayne Smith is remembered as the first husband of the late model and television personality Anna Nicole Smith. Long before she became a household name, the two were teenagers working together at a fried chicken restaurant in small-town Texas, a chance encounter that led to marriage, parenthood, and eventually a quiet life away from the cameras.
Early Life in Mexia, Texas
Billy Wayne Smith grew up in Mexia, a small rural town in Texas with a population of roughly 6,000 people. Reports on his exact birth date differ: some sources list January 27, 1967, while others place his birth in 1968. Neither figure has been officially confirmed, but most accounts agree he was a teenager during the mid-1980s, around the same age as Anna Nicole Smith, who was born Vickie Lynn Hogan.
Like many young people in the area, Billy left high school early due to financial pressures at home. Limited details exist about his family life, though those close to him described a quiet and reserved personality. Anna Nicole’s mother, Virgie Mae Hogan, once said Billy was “a sweet young man, very timid and shy.” Before meeting his future wife, Billy had already taken on manual labor jobs, including work in the local oilfields, before settling into a position as a fry cook at Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia.
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Meeting Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith’s path crossed with Billy’s after a difficult stretch in her own adolescence. She had dropped out of school at 14 and, following family conflict in Houston, was sent to live with an aunt in Mexia. There, she took a job waiting tables at Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken, the same restaurant where Billy worked as a cook.
According to multiple accounts, Billy did not show much interest in Anna Nicole at first, which only intensified her pursuit of him. She later described the courtship candidly: “He drove me crazy. I chased him and chased him the way young girls do until I finally got him and married him. By then, of course, I wasn’t interested.” Virgie Mae Hogan recalled that Billy’s initial indifference “made her mad because he didn’t pay attention to her,” which pushed Anna Nicole to declare she intended to marry him.
The two dated for several months before marrying in April 1985. At the time, Anna Nicole was 17 and Billy was 16, making them both teenagers when they exchanged vows. After the wedding, the young couple settled into a modest home near the restaurant where they had met, beginning a marriage that would prove short but consequential.
Marriage and the Birth of Daniel Wayne Smith
Family life came quickly for the young couple. On January 22, 1986, less than a year after their wedding, Billy and Anna Nicole welcomed their son, Daniel Wayne Smith, born in Mexia, Texas. Daniel would go on to become one of the most important figures in Anna Nicole’s life, and she often spoke of him as her closest companion in later years.
During this period, Billy continued working as a fry cook to support the family, while Anna Nicole took on jobs of her own, including a stint at Red Lobster before she later moved into other work to help make ends meet. Friends who knew the couple at the time described them as very young and inexperienced, navigating marriage and parenthood without much financial security or life experience to draw on.
Separation and Divorce
The marriage between Billy Wayne Smith and Anna Nicole Smith did not last long. According to Anna Nicole’s own accounts, Billy became possessive and controlling as the relationship progressed. She said at the time, “I wasn’t allowed to go out of the house or go to the store. He was so jealous.” Virgie Mae Hogan offered a somewhat different perspective, suggesting that conflict in the marriage went both ways and that the couple’s disagreements sometimes became physical.
By 1987, roughly two years after their wedding, the couple separated. Anna Nicole moved back to Houston with their young son, Daniel, who was about a year old at the time. Although the couple lived apart for years afterward, their divorce was not finalized until 1993, by which point Anna Nicole had already begun a relationship with Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, whom she would go on to marry in 1994.
Life After the Divorce
Once the marriage ended, Billy Wayne Smith largely disappeared from public view. He stayed in Mexia, Texas, continuing to work in ordinary jobs, including further stretches in the oilfield industry. Unlike Anna Nicole, who adopted the Smith surname as part of her stage identity and rose to international fame as a Playboy model and television personality, Billy chose to remain a private citizen. Public records and media reports indicate he never remarried and did not have any other children.
His relationship with his son Daniel appears to have been minimal following the separation. Anna Nicole raised Daniel largely on her own, and by most accounts, Billy had little to no contact with his son after Daniel was a toddler. This distance meant that Billy played almost no visible role during Daniel’s upbringing or in the years that followed as Anna Nicole’s fame grew.
The Death of Daniel Wayne Smith
Tragedy struck the family in 2006. Daniel Wayne Smith died on September 10, 2006, in Nassau, Bahamas, at the age of 20. He had traveled there to visit his mother, who had just given birth to her daughter, Dannielynn, days earlier. His death was attributed to an accidental combination of prescription medications in his system.
Billy Wayne Smith reportedly attended a memorial gathering held for Daniel in Mexia, where those present described him as visibly grief-stricken. Anna Nicole herself did not attend that particular service. Following Anna Nicole’s own death less than six months later, in February 2007, reports indicate that Billy made an attempt to have Daniel’s remains exhumed so he could be reburied in Mexia. That effort was unsuccessful, and Daniel remains buried beside his mother in the Bahamas.
Where Is Billy Wayne Smith Now?
Little verifiable information exists about Billy Wayne Smith’s current circumstances. He is believed to still reside in or around Mexia, Texas, living well outside the public eye. He has no known presence on social media and has not participated in interviews, documentaries, or media coverage related to Anna Nicole Smith’s life, despite renewed public interest in her story through various films and television specials over the years.
This continued privacy stands in sharp contrast to the intense media scrutiny that followed Anna Nicole for the rest of her life. While her name became synonymous with tabloid headlines, reality television, and a highly publicized second marriage and its aftermath, Billy’s story after their divorce remains defined largely by its ordinariness and his deliberate distance from the spotlight.
Conclusion
Billy Wayne Smith’s place in public memory is tied almost entirely to his brief teenage marriage to Anna Nicole Smith and their son, Daniel Wayne Smith. Their relationship, which began at a small-town fried chicken restaurant in Mexia, Texas, and ended in divorce within a few years, offered a glimpse of Anna Nicole’s life before fame reshaped it entirely. While Anna Nicole’s later years were marked by wealth, controversy, and tragedy, Billy chose a different path, retreating into a private existence that has remained largely unchanged in the decades since. His story, though quieter than that of his famous ex-wife, remains an important part of understanding her early life and the family history that connected them both to their son, Daniel.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Billy Wayne Smith?
Billy Wayne Smith is the first husband of the late model and television personality Anna Nicole Smith. The two married as teenagers in Mexia, Texas, and had one son together, Daniel Wayne Smith.
2. When did Billy Wayne Smith and Anna Nicole Smith get married?
They married in April 1985, when Anna Nicole was 17 and Billy was 16 years old.
3. Did Billy Wayne Smith and Anna Nicole Smith have children?
Yes, the couple had one son, Daniel Wayne Smith, who was born on January 22, 1986, in Mexia, Texas.
4. When did Billy Wayne Smith and Anna Nicole Smith divorce?
The couple separated in 1987 and their divorce was officially finalized in 1993.
5. What happened to Billy Wayne Smith’s son, Daniel?
Daniel Wayne Smith died on September 10, 2006, in Nassau, Bahamas, at age 20, from an accidental combination of medications while visiting his mother.
